Many processes involve and/or require the suspension of an object and the movement of this suspended object from one location (e.g., where one step in an overall process may be accomplished) to a second location (e.g., where a second step in an overall process may be accomplished).
By way of example and without limitation, a hot glass object, such as a pre-formed and substantially curved hot glass object, is typically required to be suspended and moved from one location to another as the object is “processed” or formed into an automobile glazing.
While prior techniques and strategies do allow the suspension and transport of such objects, they suffer from some drawbacks. By way of example and without limitation, prior suspension and transport of a heated glass object typically caused the heated glass object to be undesirably and non-uniformly deformed. That is, one prior technique associated with the suspension and transport of a heated glass object is described within U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,985 (“the '985 patent”)which is fully and completely incorporated herein by reference, word for word and paragraph for paragraph.
Particularly, as the '985 patent describes, it is customary to suspend and carry a heated glass object by the use of tongs which locally (e.g., at the point at which each of the tongs respectively “meet” or couple to the heated glass object) and undesirably deform the glass object. The deformation is greatly exacerbated by the fact that each of the tongs typically carries a different fraction of the overall weight of the suspended object and thusly each of the tongs respectively deforms the suspended object by a different and visually noticeable amount. Typically, the distribution of the weight of the suspended object among the tongs is unknown and/or uncontrolled and thusly a titling moment is created, about the center of gravity of the suspended object which, if not relieved by rotation of suspended object, further increases the afore-described tong deformation.
One approach to overcoming these disadvantages is found within the Great Briton patent GB473604 (“the '604 patent”) which is similarly and completely incorporated herein by reference, word for word and paragraph for paragraph. While the '604 patent did attempt to evenly distribute the weight of the glass among the various connectors, it is only applicable to glass that is not “press-formed” and requires a cascade of mechanical balance frames which are costly and un-wieldly. The teachings of the '604 patent cannot be employed within a known curved glass manufacturing process.
There is therefore a need for a new and improved apparatus and method for suspending an object which overcomes the various and previously delineated disadvantages associated with prior techniques and strategies.